This Night Is Sparkling (don't you let it go)
by intolauren
Summary: In an alternate universe, Oliver Queen is shy and quiet and in love with books and video games. Felicity Smoak is rich and beautiful and the new owner of a brand new nightclub downtown. How will their worlds ever collide?
1. Chapter 1

**The title of this is a line from Enchanted by Taylor Swift (please don't sue me, Taylor, I love you!) which is just one of those songs that reminds me of Olicity every time I hear it. In fact, the album that song comes from has A LOT of Olicity songs on it...**

 **SO sorry for the lack of anything from me over the last month or so. I'm not going to even get into it. Except from saying that being a writer and having crippling depression and anxiety sometimes means I literally cannot make myself write a single word for weeks at a time without crying. Hence the almost seven weeks since I last updated/posted anything.**  
 **Anyway, I've had this idea for awhile and just didn't know how to go about it but today I finally mustered up some motivation and inspiration and although it's far from the best thing I've ever written, I enjoyed writing it nonetheless and that's what I need to remember when I'm struggling to write anything at all.**

 **I hope you enjoy this! Feel free to let me know what you think, I really appreciate any review/comment that I receive :)**

* * *

Oliver Queen was nervous. Oliver Queen was always nervous, but tonight he was especially nervous.

Any moment now, his colleague and best friend, Tommy Merlyn, would be knocking on his door to take him out for the night. And out for the night with Tommy never meant grabbing milkshakes and seeing a movie, it meant taking shots and dancing in grimy nightclubs where the music was too loud and waking up with a huge headache the next day.

To this day, Oliver had no idea how he and Tommy had stayed friends for so long. They'd met in high school when they were both shy freshmen trying to find the right homeroom. They'd bonded over their love of classic sci-fi movies and video games, and had soon found out that that's pretty much where the similarities stopped. Where Oliver was quiet and withdrawn for pretty much the entirety of his school career, it didn't take Tommy long to come out of his shell, and before too long he was never short of people who wanted to sit with him at lunch. Tommy was loud and outgoing, an extrovert through and through, and people loved him instantly. All the while, Oliver struggled to make friends, struggled to find his voice, struggled to fit in anywhere except at home in his bedroom with his head buried in a book. But Tommy remained firmly in his life somehow and when he wasn't playing soccer after school or being swarmed by girls in the halls after class, Tommy was just there as his friend. He never tried to make Oliver change and for the most part, whenever they hung out, it was as if the Tommy at school was a figment of his imagination, because it was always just the slightly geeky and definitely clumsy Tommy that came over for dinner several times a week with Oliver and his family.

After high school, Tommy had gone on to work with his father at his company, but still he and Oliver stayed friends, even though Oliver moved across the country to go to college to study film (with honours in chemistry and biology). They kept in touch via instant messages or the occasional phone call and each time Oliver came home for the holidays, Tommy would always be waiting to pick him up from the airport. When Oliver graduated, Tommy was there on the second row next to his family, grinning and holding up encouraging thumbs whenever Oliver happened to glance nervously in his direction.

Once he moved back home after graduation, Oliver had struggled to find somewhere to work, especially somewhere he _wanted_ to work, and after a failed few months at a grocery store, Tommy had suggested he come and work with him at his father's company; there was a vacancy just come up within the media department and simply knowing Tommy's father for as long as Oliver had secured him the job in no time. The job had meant to be a temporary thing, until Oliver found something better, but he soon discovered that he enjoyed his position a lot more than he expected to. The job paid well and only two years after he began working, he was able to save up just enough to move out of his parents' house into his own place, a small but sufficient studio apartment overlooking the bay. Oliver got on well with the team of people he worked with and found a lot of them had similar interests; the quiet and indoorsy type of interests which were still very much present in Oliver's life. His work was fulfilling and satisfying and for the first time in his life, he began to feel like he belonged somewhere other than his bedroom. Which was why, now 8 years later, Oliver still worked with the media team, editing and advertising and organising company events, catching up with Tommy whenever they happened to head down for lunch at the same time, and then after work every Friday when Tommy would call with one of his ideas for a night out. Like tonight, for example. Tonight was one of Tommy's infamous "nights out". And this time, he had simply refused to take no for an answer when Oliver had tried to get out of it.

"You are absolutely coming, no excuses," he'd said, before Oliver could even begin his excuse, a knowing gleam in his eye and a smirk on his face when he'd called after him that morning as they headed for the elevator before work.

"There's a brand new club opening downtown and apparently the girl who owns it is super hot _and_ rich. Dude, we can't miss out on this one. It's going to be sick," he'd continued as they stepped into the elevator and headed for the sixth floor.

"I'll pick you up at 10pm. Don't be late!" he'd yelled as he left the elevator and made his way towards his father's office, leaving Oliver standing dumbfounded and deflated in the hall having not been able to get a word in edgeways the entire ride up.

It sounded like it was going to be a great night for anyone like Tommy. For someone like Oliver though, it sounded like hell.

He'd never been to a club opening before but it didn't take a genius to figure out that openings meant publicity and publicity meant popularity and popularity meant that a lot of people would be there. And if word was out about the "hot and rich" owner, then even more people would be stopping by he guessed, trying to sneak a glance or two at her, perhaps in exchange for a phone number if they were lucky.

For the fifth time in the last ten minutes, Oliver glanced at his reflection in the mirror and sighed. Tommy had told him not to dress up too much, but to still look dressed up, and it had taken the entire afternoon for Oliver to finally decide on an outfit. He'd gone for black jeans and a white button down shirt and then instead of the Converse he wore everyday outside of the office, he'd put on the shiny black shoes he usually wore to work. His face was freshly shaven and his hair was freshly washed but Oliver was still as un-excited about the night to come as he was when Tommy had first told him about it. Oliver began to fidget as he waited, looking at his watch every ten seconds and wildly pacing around the living room, his brain fixated on listing all the things that could possibly go wrong tonight. He was all but ready to lock to door and just go to bed when he heard a horn blaring outside. Before he even checked, he knew it was Tommy, just from the obnoxiously loud sound escaping the vehicle. If there was one thing Tommy never was, it was inconspicuous.

Taking a few deep breaths, Oliver closed the door behind him and jogged down the path to the car, already counting down the hours to when he'd be able to be back home again.

* * *

One hour and two shots of tequila later, Oliver's mood was still bleak. The fact that Tommy had been "in the bathroom" for almost fifteen minutes now didn't help much, especially considering that a tall and very beautiful redhead had all but clung to him as he excused himself; 30 minutes to pick up a girl was a record even for Tommy and once again, Oliver had been left on his own.

Giving up on standing around waiting, Oliver made his way through the crowd to a relatively empty seating area towards the back of the club. He still couldn't hear himself think over the music there, but it was significantly quieter than over by the DJ booth where Tommy had insisted they stand earlier. Finding himself a seat at a table that was completely unoccupied, Oliver took out his phone and started switching between apps, checking each of the various social media platforms he monitored at work, just for something to do. He wanted to go home, but part of him also wanted to wait around a little longer to see if anything exciting would happen. That was the tequila talking though. Sober Oliver would never wait around for something exciting to happen.

Scrolling through social media, Oliver lost track of time and it wasn't until a fresh shot of tequila slid across the table towards him that he remembered that he was supposed to be having fun, not doing work stuff.

Looking up, Oliver expected to find Tommy's judgemental frown staring back but was surprised to see a stunning, young woman smiling knowingly at him.

"You looked like you needed another one of those," she laughed, raising her eyebrow as she gestured towards the drink on the table.

Oliver stuttered an apology, completely taken aback by the fact that this beautiful woman was actually here, talking to him. He picked up the drink and was about to swallow it down when she said,

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to accept drinks from strangers?" with a wink.

"Drinks too? I thought it was just candy," Oliver replied once he drained the glass in one gulp, not really trying to be funny, but was delighted all the same when she laughed again.

"What's someone like you doing sitting all the way back here on your own anyway?" she smiled, running her hand through her long, blonde hair.

He couldn't answer right away; he was completely transfixed by the way her hair perfectly framed the plunging neckline of her dress and fell down to her waist, the ends tickling the skin of her arm as she rested her hand on her hip, the golden blonde a dazzling contrast against her black dress, even here where it was dark as the club lights flashed. Her dress was tight, it glazed her curves effortlessly as though it was made for no one else in the world but her, and ended mid-thigh to reveal tanned legs that seemed to go on forever.

"I'm just- I'm uh- My friend ditched me," he finished, quickly, desperately trying to stop staring at her and string a sentence together from somewhere inside his suddenly fried brain.

She smiled, one that told Oliver she knew he'd been staring at her, and also one of pity almost and Oliver instantly wished he'd just told her to leave him alone and that it was none of her business.

That wish was short lived however as she moved around the table to sit down next to him, crossing one leg over the other, and then held out her hand towards him.

"Felicity," she smiled, warmly.

"Oliver," he replied, taking her hand and shaking it.

"Well, Oliver, I think your friend is a massive dick for leaving you on your own in my club. Can I say that?" she said, with raised eyebrows and a frown.

Wait, _her club?_ She was the hot and rich girl everyone was talking about who owned this place? If Oliver wasn't feeling intimidated before, he definitely was now.

"This is your place?" He asked, trying to sound casual but not completely managing to hide his surprise.

"You don't have to sound so shocked," she teased, rolling her eyes, and Oliver realised then that she was still holding onto his hand.

She must have realised at the same time because she glanced down at their hands, but made no attempt to let go. Meeting his eyes, she smiled again, and Oliver felt his cheeks warm. The tequila was definitely getting to him now, because all of a sudden he wanted to kiss her. It would be so easy to lean over and press his lips against hers, to run his free hand through her hair or rest it against her cheek. But Oliver Queen didn't just kiss girls in nightclubs, especially not girls like Felicity, girls like Felicity who clearly only pitied guys like him. It was in her job description after all to make guests happy, especially the pathetic ones who sat alone replying to complaint tweets rather than drinking and having a good time like everyone else. But her smile seemed genuine, really genuine, and she didn't seem like the type of person to waste a genuine smile on someone whom she didn't think deserved it.

"This is a really amazing place, Felicity," He tried to ease the intensity of the moment with an offhand compliment, but got lost in the way her name felt rolling off of his tongue. It felt good. More than good, actually. It felt wonderful.

"I'd say thank you, but I can't help but notice that you didn't exactly look like you were having the time of your life 5 minutes ago," she grinned, teasingly but softly too, as though she wanted to say something else.

Had it really only been 5 minutes since she came over here? It felt like longer, much longer. Talking to her was beginning to feel like catching up with an old friend after a few years apart. He'd read about that kind of feeling in books but had never experienced it for himself, and up until now had convinced himself it was simply a fantasy thing, something writers made up to help their reader fall in love with the characters.

"I'm sorry... but it probably hasn't skipped your attention that I don't exactly fit in places like this. It's nothing personal, I just hate loud music and crowds,"

 _Wow, way to sound lame in front of a beautiful woman,_ Oliver thought to himself, cringing.

"You must really like your friend then, to come all the way here if you feel uncomfortable, just so he can have a good time," she smiled, and Oliver was taken aback by how perceptive she was; he hadn't expected her to be able to get inside his head like that. He didn't know anyone who could get inside his head like that but she had, and she'd said it like it was nothing more than a passing thought.

"We've been friends a long time. He's more like a brother to me, really,"

She smiled again. Oliver noticed fully for the first time that her smile was just as gorgeous as she was.

"Where is he anyway? This friend of yours?" she asked, glancing out over the crowd of people squeezed onto the dancefloor several feet away from where they were sitting.

"Um, the last I saw of him, some tall red headed woman was following him to the bathroom. Romantic, right?" he replied.

Felicity made a face.

"I hope that tall redhead you're talking about wasn't one of my bar staff. I don't pay people to have cheap sex in a bathroom when I'm not looking," she grimaced, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I'm sure he'll tell me all about her when we get home so if ever I'm in here again, I'll let you know. I'll spare you the gross details, don't worry,"

"In which case, she's definitely got away with it because you strike me as someone who definitely won't be coming back here again after such a miserable night," she chuckled, almost humourlessly, and then met his gaze suddenly.

She was wrong. Oliver would come back here every night if it meant being able to sit and talk to to her like this. In fact, he'd come back here every night even if he couldn't talk to her, even if all he got to do was watch her work.

"It hasn't been all miserable," Oliver offered with a small smile, still meeting her gaze and _still_ holding her hand.

She smiled back, and leaned over towards him as if she was about to whisper something in his ear but they were suddenly interrupted by the loud and very drunk voice of Tommy Merlyn.

"Queen! Dude! I have missed you so much!" he yelled, completely ruining the moment Oliver was sharing with Felicity. She let go of his hand and stood up.

"So this is your friend, is it?" She asked, glowering at Tommy.

"Unfortunately, it is," Oliver replied, kicking his friend under the table.

"And who are you, beautiful?" Tommy flirted, slurring, pouting at Felicity.

"I'm someone who wishes you hadn't come back and ruined a lovely moment," she glared at him, not a single inclination on her face that she was joking.

Oliver couldn't help but smile at her again. Not only because she thought they'd had a lovely time together, but at the way Tommy was still pouting at her, clearly not understanding the rejection in her voice as she spoke to him. From the way she spoke, Oliver knew Felicity was used to guys hitting on her and she was also very used to shutting them down almost instantly.

"I'm also someone who thinks you don't deserve a friend like Oliver," she finished, glancing in Oliver's direction and letting her frown switch into a small smile just for a fraction of a second.

"Oh, come on, babe! I'm much more fun than Oliver! Just ask the redhead I was with five minutes ago," he snorted, clearly proud of himself and Oliver cringed.

Felicity opened her mouth to speak but then must have decided against it as all that came out was a long sigh, one Oliver could hear even over the music.

"I think it's probably best if we go," Oliver said, standing up. "I'll go call us a cab. Come on, Tommy,"

"Aw, man! I was just starting to enjoy myself!" he protested, but he stood up anyway and moved towards Felicity, obviously trying one last time before he left to make a pass at her.

He didn't get far though, and as soon as he leaned towards her Felicity firmly gripped his shoulder and pushed him back in one fluid motion. Tommy might have been drunk but he was no small guy and Oliver absent-mindedly wondered how many hours a week Felicity must have to put in at the gym to be strong enough to fight off guys like Tommy on a daily basis. Once Tommy was out of earshot, staggering slowly towards the exit, Felicity caught Oliver's arm.

"Hey, I really did enjoy talking with you tonight, you know? You're definitely the better half of your friendship with him. By a long shot," she smiled.

Oliver smiled back, feeling his cheeks warm and blush for the second time that night.

"Thank you. But honestly, he's really not that bad when he's sober,"

"You're still the better half, I'm sure of it," she said, matter-of-factly, and then she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "If ever you find yourself in here again, come and find me, okay?"

And with that she turned on her heel and headed towards the dancefloor, her blonde hair soon getting eveloped by the crowd and disappearing all together.

Oliver watched the space where he'd last seen her for a long time before he went outside to join Tommy.


	2. Chapter 2

**I just want to start by saying THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who left me a comment on the last chapter. Honestly, the thought that anyone would take the time to just drop me their thoughts makes me tear up sometimes. It means SO much to me so thank you thank you thank you! :)**  
 **This entire thing was only meant to be a one chapter thing, but as soon as I got a request for a second chapter and I began thinking about it, this took on a mind of its own! Even as I sat down to write this second chapter, it was going to be the end, but now I definitely have plans for one more. I'm just having too much fun to put it down and it feels so good to finally be excited about writing again after struggling to even look at a Word document without crying for almost two months.**

 **I hope you enjoy this! Feel free to let me know what you think :)**

* * *

By the time Felicity Smoak woke up the next working, she'd already decided to never think about last night again. Especially since all she'd done before she fell asleep last night, was think about it. She was irritated at her brain for acting like a teenager, and so she vowed never to think about Oliver Queen again. Unfortunately for her however, vowing never to think about someone and actually following through with it, are two completely different things.

Felicity had woken up late, around 10:30am, since she'd been at the club until the early hours of the morning and had driven home just as the sun was coming up. The club had only been open for one night but already she could feel her sleeping schedule becoming messed up beyond repair. She didn't mind too much, she'd always been somewhat of a night owl, and opening night had been such a success. She'd talked to a lot of people last night who had all been excited and full of praise at the great job she'd done getting the place up and running again after it had been left abandoned for almost 5 years. Of course, there was one conversation in particular that she'd enjoyed more than the rest, but as soon as the thought made its way into her consciousness, she pushed it furiously aside and headed to the kitchen to make herself a strong cup of coffee.

* * *

Half an hour later, Felicity was waiting outside the gym for her best friend, Sara Lance, who as usual, was running late.

Felicity had known Sara for most of her life. They'd met at dance classes which Felicity had briefly taken as a child, before discovering she almost completely lacked coordination, and Sara had been the only one of the young children who didn't seem annoyed at the endless times she tripped and fell during rehearsals. All the other girls in the class had clearly been dancing since they could walk, and as a clumsy seven year old joining in the middle of the year, Felicity hadn't exactly been welcomed with open arms. Not that it mattered to her; she was headstrong and confident and seemingly oblivious to the sniggers and snide remarks from the rest of the class. Only one girl had seemed eager to get to know Felicity, and that girl was Sara, and even though Felicity soon quit dancing, she and Sara stayed friends. Felicity was at every single one of Sara's dance recitals and performances from then on, cheering her name usually from the front row, never once feeling bitter that she wasn't the one up onstage. Felicity had never wanted to be a dancer anyway, it was just something her mother had wanted her to try, one of her mother's unfulfilled dreams that she tried to live out through Felicity. Felicity's dreams were a lot more simple; she just wanted to be rich, and that was that.

Sara was just like Felicity in a lot of ways and their friendship had been blossoming ever since they met. She was ambitious and strong and focused only on becoming the best person she could be, and it was those qualities alone that had her and Felicity becoming best friends practically overnight. It was those same qualities that meant that even now, their friendship was as solid as ever, and the two were just as inseparable as they'd always been.

Felicity tried to hide the smirk from her face as Sara came into view, jogging across the parking lot to meet her, an apologetic look in her eye. Felicity could never be mad at Sara, or even annoyed, but she liked to watch her grovel sometimes, especially when she was late for something. _Again._

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I'm late! There was so much traffic and all my sports bras were in the laundry and- hey, don't laugh at me, I'm trying to apologise here!" Sara grinned, stopping midway through her extended apology upon seeing Felicity chuckling to herself.

"I forgive you, since you look so gorgeous this morning," Felicity laughed, and then whistled at her friend teasingly.

"I know, right? I knew these new booty shorts were a good idea!"

"Every guy in there is going to be staring at you in those, without a doubt,"

"Perfect! That was just my intention," Sara winked and tossed her hair over her shoulder as they headed inside the gym. "By the way, congratulations again on last night! I had no doubt in my mind that everything would be amazing. Because, hello? It's you running things!" She continued, throwing her arms quickly around Felicity's waist to give her a small but reassuring hug.

Felicity had called Sara before she went to sleep earlier to fill her in on the success of the club's opening night, and she'd been absolutely ecstatic to hear everything went so well. Felicity had left out the part about Oliver, not wanting to dwell on what had happened between them any longer than needed, but somehow, Sara had known she wasn't telling her everything, and had pressed her for information. When Felicity refused, blowing her off by saying she needed to go to sleep, Sara had promised she'd get it out of her somehow. Felicity could only hope she'd forgotten about her promise already.

As they made their way over to the free weights area, Felicity found herself absent-mindedly wondering if Oliver worked out a lot. She hadn't paid too much attention to his body last night, his face had distracted her from fully checking him out, and all she knew in regards to the rest of him was that he looked extremely good in a white button down. But it was his face that she'd spotted from across the room, and his bright blue eyes that had drawn her in and made her want to talk to him all night long.

Felicity was used to guys hitting on her, and it was the simple fact that Oliver hadn't, that had made her hold onto his hand for much longer than was necessary. He'd barely even flirted with her, but she could tell he liked her simply by the way in which his eyes never left hers. There'd been a brief moment where she thought he was going to kiss her, but he'd seemingly decided against it and complimented her club instead. Or maybe he hadn't been going to kiss her at all. Maybe she'd been reading him all wrong. She thought back to their conversation, back to the way his voice had turned almost playful when he said _"it hasn't been all miserable,"_ after she'd confronted him about looking like he was having an awful night. It was then that she realised her memory of last night, of the time she'd spent with Oliver, felt strange. What was strange about it was that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't place them in the loud and busy club where she knew they'd been. In her head, it felt like it had just been the two of them, sitting in a quiet room, the rest of the world still, and miles away.

Frowning, Felicity rolled her eyes at herself. She was beginning to sound like a narrative from a cheesy, teen romance novel.

After loading a barbell with her usual amount of weights, Felicity added another 20lbs on just for good measure and stepped forward to begin her set. She had to get her head out of last night and focus on the matter at hand, hitting a new PR on her squats. She rolled the bar off of the rack and let it rest on her shoulders. Stepping back once, and then twice so she was clear of the rack and could squat freely, Felicity took a deep breath through her nose. This was the most weight she'd had on the bar in awhile and she knew she should probably have let herself warm up with some lighter weights first, or at least have someone spotting her, but all she wanted was something physical to focus on so she could stop going over last night in her head.

The first two reps went well and she pushed for a third, her legs shaking as she lowered herself down. Rising back up to place the bar back on the rack, Felicity felt her knees buckle and she knew she was going to fall. The bar slipped from her shoulders suddenly as she tried to regain her balance, and then it crashed to the ground, bouncing once on the spongy floor and then rolled into the wall with a thud.

Felicity cursed loudly and felt her cheeks burn as several people turned to look at her. She hated those looks, especially from the guys. It was a look that said " _oh dear, a tiny and fragile woman has stepped out of place in the gym again. What a disaster,"._

She felt Sara's hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay? If you needed a spot, you should have asked!" She scolded, concern welling in her tone as she looked Felicity over worriedly.

"I'm fine, I don't know what happened. I just had a late night last night, that's all," Felicity replied, trying to hide how angry and humiliated she felt from her voice.

Sara didn't miss a beat though, and smiled softly at her.

"I think we need to go and have a long talk about what happened last night, Smoak," she said, raising her eyebrows at Felicity.

* * *

Sara didn't press the matter straight away, thankfully, and left Felicity to finish her workout in peace after removing the extra 20lbs from the barbell and telling her to go easy on herself just this once. Felicity obeyed with a sigh, agreeing that Sara was probably right and she should take it easy this time. All too soon though, Felicity's workout came to an end and she simply couldn't put off her talk with Sara any longer. They drove over to Felicity's place and Felicity laughed as Sara grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses from the kitchen as soon as they arrived, declaring "it's 5 o clock somewhere," with a grin. That phrase was Sara's favourite phrase, Felicity decided, and she loved her friend all the more for it. She poured them a glass each and took a long satisfying drink before sitting down on the couch next to Felicity and tucking her legs underneath her.

"Okay, so talk. What happened last night that's got you so worked up today? And don't you dare say nothing happened. I know you," Sara asked, smiling knowingly at Felicity.

Felicity bit her lip nervously but couldn't help smiling back at her friend.

"I kind of met a guy last night,"

"And he was bad in bed?" Sara asked, without hesitation.

Felicity cringed and bit back her annoyance at Sara's question. She didn't blame her for jumping to that conclusion, it wasn't like Felicity usually held back and waited for a date before she slept with someone, but it irritated her this time that Sara just assumed she'd already slept with him.

"No! Nothing like that! We didn't sleep together, he's not like that," Felicity said quickly, her cheeks blushing slightly at the thought.

Sara's eyebrows raised in curiosity and Felicity continued.

"We just talked, that's all. I thought he was going to kiss me at one point but he didn't. He seemed so shy and introspective and like he just couldn't believe that I was actually there talking to him. It was really sweet, but I'm not used to guys being so quiet, you know? I'm used to them starting a conversation with a vulgar comment, and that I can handle! I guess I just don't know how to feel about this guy, Oliver, he's so unlike everything I'm used to," Felicity confessed, already having decided to just be as honest as possible.

"To be fair on him, if I was a guy and you came over to talk to me I wouldn't be able to believe my luck either, so I don't blame him for being shy," Sara offered, nudging Felicity's knee with her own.

Felicity smiled and took a drink of her wine.

"It was just weird, that's all. We probably have nothing in common or anything anyway,"

"Nope, you're not getting out of this already, Felicity. You clearly like this guy. What I don't understand is why you're getting so stressed over him. You've never let a guy have this effect on you before,"

"I know! And that's what's so annoying! I feel pathetic, I honestly do," Felicity felt her cheeks burn again and she cursed her parents in her head for giving her such pale and readable skin and an inherent blush that never let her hide how she really felt for long.

Sara reached over and rested her hand on Felicity's thigh, clearly sensing how uncomfortable and embarrassed she was.

"Babe, it's okay to like someone, you know? It doesn't make you pathetic. I know you like to think of yourself as someone who doesn't need anyone, and I love you so much for that, but it's okay to feel otherwise sometimes. It doesn't mean you're any less of a strong and independent woman, I promise you,"

Sara was right, Felicity knew that but she didn't feel any better for hearing her words.

"I know, and thank you so much for saying that, but it doesn't matter whether it's okay to like him or not. Sara, I could tell just from our twenty minute conversation that I'm not the kind of person someone like him needs. It was the most obvious thing about last night. I intimidated him and made him uncomfortable and he's clearly not ready for someone like me," Felicity tried to laugh the end of her sentence off but Sara read the meaning underneath her forced laughter.

"What if you're wrong?" She simply asked, finishing the rest of the wine in her glass.

Felicity followed suit and finished her glass too. Sara had a point.

"Even if I am, it doesn't matter. I never got his number anyway and I'll probably never see him again. He told me he wasn't the type of person who enjoys crowds or loud music. He was only there because his friend wanted to go. His friend, who by the way, was a massive dick. He was all over me! But I can deal with that, you know? I can deal with guys who come on to me and never once stare anywhere above my chest. But Oliver was the opposite of that. He checked me out, don't get me wrong, but it was less "I want to fuck you," and more "I want to marry you,"," Felicity admitted, feeling her cheeks warm for the third time in their short conversation.

Sara laughed at the mention of marriage but Felicity's serious expression shut her up quickly.

"Shit," she whispered, re-filling her wine glass.

"Exactly," Felicity agreed, leaning over so Sara could fill her glass too.

"What was his friend's name, by the way? Maybe I'll do since you rejected him! I'm very good a repairing egos," Sara laughed, and Felicity couldn't tell whether she was serious or not. Knowing Sara, she was probably very serious.

"His name was Tommy, I think. And I guess he was cute when he wasn't slurring all over me and trying to touch me," Felicity said, rolling her eyes.

Sara's mouth dropped open.

"Wait, you're not talking about Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn are you?" She asked, her voice raised.

"Why? Do you know them?"

"Tommy dated my sister! Surely you must recognise him from my birthday party last year, Felicity! He was the one who seemed surgically attached to Laurel's mouth the entire night!"

As soon as Sara mentioned her birthday party, Felicity remembered. He really had been latched onto Laurel all night; Felicity and Sara had made gagging noises everytime they had to walk past them to get to the bar. Felicity buried her head in her hands.

"Oh my god, of course," she muttered into her palms.

"I can't believe you're totally crushing on Tommy's geeky best friend though. I'm worried about your taste. Then again, I haven't seen Oliver in a year so maybe he got hot... Whatever. The good news is that I have Tommy's number so you have no reason not to get in touch with Oliver again!" Sara was so excited she was practically bouncing up and down on the couch.

Felicity swallowed hard and finished her second glass of wine in one go.

"Sara wait, I'm not sure I want to see him again! He hardly seemed interested in me last night so maybe he was just being polite,"

She'd barely finished her sentence before Sara was cutting in excitedly.

"Felicity, I swear Oliver hasn't been with anyone since high school probably. In what world would he not be interested in you? He's just shy, you said so yourself, and I'm not surprised. He's probably never been approached by any girl in his life, let alone someone as gorgeous and rich as you! I'm actually amazed that he didn't bolt out of the building as soon as you said hi," she explained, digging in her purse for her phone.

Felicity let herself think over what Sara had just said while her friend looked for her phone.

She'd convinced herself Oliver was a one time thing, someone she'd never see again, someone she'd just shared a lovely moment with. She didn't know what to do now the prospect of seeing him again was on the table. Of course she wanted to see him again, but she meant what she'd said earlier, about Oliver not being ready for someone like her. She was famous for breaking boys hearts, for screwing them once or twice and then never calling back. She'd never really had an actual loving relationship with anyone before. But did she want that with Oliver? She knew she didn't just want to have sex with him and then never see him again, but she didn't know if she even knew _how_ to be with someone in any other way. Relationships were about trust and letting someone get to know each and every part of you, and she didn't exactly thrill at the idea of either of the two. Felicity had only ever let one person into her life fully and that was Sara, and even that relationship had taken nearly twenty years to fully develop. But on the other hand, it had been so easy to talk to Oliver last night. If Tommy hadn't come over and ruined things, she knew they would have gone on talking all night. She had been about to tell him last night that _she_ had been the one having a miserable night until she met him. And okay, it had been a ploy to get him to kiss her, an excuse for her to lean into him so he wouldn't feel daunted at having to cover the distance, but she'd meant what she said all the same. That in itself wasn't what Felicity was used to. She would never have admitted something like that to a guy, even if he'd all but declared his undying love for her.

"I just sent Tommy a text, asking him for Oliver's number," Sara said guiltily, looking up from under her lashes at Felicity.

"Sara! I told you not to!"

"I knooow but you don't mean it, do you?" She teased, lovingly though, and Felicity could see that her protests were making no difference.

She cringed into her hands once more, but she knew Sara was right.

And that was when Felicity made her decision. She was going to see Oliver Queen again.


	3. Chapter 3

**God, this chapter took SO long to write and I'm SO sorry. I don't have an excuse either, other than the usual "my brain likes to tell me endlessly that my writing sucks so I just don't write" excuse.**  
 **That and that I've been busy working and saving up for COH2 which I just came back from which was INCREDIBLE and I got to meet all my faves. You can read my recap/roundup post from the convention on my tumblr if you want to! (the link to my blog is in my ff profile page)**

 **Anyway! I finally sat down today now I'm pretty much food/sleep recovered from the weekend and decided to finish this! Originally I was going to have this be the final chapter but there was too much I wanted to include so I changed my mind. The next chapter they will DEFINITELY meet up again, I promise.**

 **As always, please let me know what you think of this because a big part of why I don't update regularly is because a lack of reviews/comments makes me feel like there's no point. Which I KNOW shouldn't be what happens, but it does.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Oliver's Saturday morning had been uneventful.

He'd been lucky enough to wake up with only a little headache that soon disappeared after downing a large glass of water and an Aspirin, but the lack of hangover meant that he had no reason to lie in bed all day and no excuse to not get on with some laundry. He'd reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and down six flights of stairs, the elevator was out of order _again_ , to the dingy little room in the basement of the apartment building with a basket full of clothes ready to wash, not forgetting his book that he knew he'd need to keep himself occupied as the washers down there were at least fifteen years old and had a tendency to take much longer than necessary to finish a cycle. He loaded his clothes into the machine, pushed in a coin to start it, and then grabbed a fold out chair from the corner of the room to sit on. Picking up his book and resting it in his lap, Oliver tried to ignore the noises the washer was making and zoned in on the words on the page as best he could.

And that was where he'd been for the last two hours, his head buried in his book as the machine whirred and clattered loudly, when suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket and startled him.

He expected it to be Tommy, texting him from upstairs in his extremely hungover state to ask him where he was, but as Oliver pulled his phone from his pocket, there was a message from an unknown number lighting up his lockscreen.

 _So, it turns out we live in a really small world and my best friend knows your best friend? Long story short, Tommy gave my friend your number who gave it to me and I hope that's okay? Basically I just really enjoyed seeing you last night and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out again sometime, in quieter and less crowded conditions :) I hope your head isn't too sore today; I know tequila can be a bitch. Felicity, xo_

Oliver's heart skipped for the hundredth time as he read her message three times over.

He'd deliberately not let himself think about last night at all since he woke up, convinced that either he'd dreamed the whole thing, or that even if he hadn't, she'd never want to see him again anyway. But here was proof in front of his eyes that not only had it actually happened, but also that she really did want to see him again after all.

Part of him had been completely okay with thinking that last night was going to be their only night together. It had been nice, really nice, but he wasn't dumb enough to think a girl like Felicity would be interested in him for any length of time. He was well aware that he wasn't exactly a thrilling person, especially since one of the first things he'd told her about himself was that he didn't like crowds or loud music. She hadn't seemed to mind, and he smiled as he read her message for the fourth time at the suggestion of them meeting up again somewhere quieter this time.

Instinctively he began to compose a reply but then something stopped him.

This had to be a joke, right? She had to be kidding with him. Just like every girl he'd ever really talked to. He was a project to them, a laugh between friends. It had been that way ever since high school. Oliver just didn't get the girl, Tommy did. He must have misinterpreted the entire thing last night. It was the alcohol that did it, it had to have been. He was tired of being the root of a joke and he refused to become it again.

So he deleted the message and went back to his book. And for the next hour whilst the washer finished its cycle, tried to ignore the niggling feeling in the back of his mind that he'd made a huge mistake.

* * *

Felicity had been at the club since 4 in the afternoon. It was getting on midnight now and all she wanted was to go home and sleep. Tonight had been just as busy as last night and there were still 4 and a half hours before last orders at the bar were called. On an average night out, Felicity would definitely have been one of the last people to leave a club, sometimes having to be physically removed in a drunken state because she just didn't want to stop dancing. But going to a club to party and working at a club were seemingly two very different things.

It didn't help that she just couldn't stop checking her phone for a reply from Oliver. Every 5 minutes she pulled it from her bra inside her dress and watched the home-screen light up, each time so far being disappointed to see no new message from him. She told herself to stop checking for a message, she told herself she was being dumb, she told herself this over and over, but still like clockwork she checked for a message and felt herself cringe each time she found there was nothing. By probably the fifteenth time, Felicity was close to throwing her phone in the trash. She was driving herself crazy over one guy, when guys had been hitting on her all night since the doors opened 2 hours ago. These guys were hot too, some of them clearly rich, and Felicity just couldn't understand why all she'd done so far is turn them down.

Around 2:30 in the morning, Felicity took a bathroom break, mostly because her feet were hurting and she needed to sit down somewhere. The club wasn't fully staffed yet and she'd been working the bar, working tables and checking up on the DJ booth all night. The staff she did have were competent enough, they'd all had impressive resumes during interviews for the job, but for some reason tonight, Felicity had spent more time telling them what to do than anything else. She'd tried to be patient with them, this was a new job after all, but she'd lost her temper more than twice tonight and she was beginning to realise that the anger she felt each time one of them screwed up, really had nothing to do with them and everything to do with her.

As she headed upstairs to her office, she found herself checking her phone again and out of pure exasperation at her own stupidity, decided to send him one last text message before she never thought about him again.

 _I don't chase guys for long, Oliver. Remember that._

She pressed send before she could think twice about how the message would sound and headed into her office to use the bathroom. After taking almost 30 minutes to finish up, she was hiding in there more than anything, Felicity was about to head out back into the club when she collided with someone in the hallway.

"Watch it!" she snapped, not really recognising the venom in her voice and then looked up apologetically at whoever had accidentally been in the way.

"Hey, whoa, I'm sorry, sweetheart," a voice replied, a male voice, one she instantly recognised from last night.

"Tommy?" she asked, sure already that it was him.

"You caught me," he replied, laughing shakily, probably still taken aback by how rude she'd been a few seconds ago.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there,"

"Don't worry about it. I owe you an apology for last night anyway. I was a jerk and I swear to god, I'm not usually like that,"

Felicity rolled her eyes and then smiled.

"Whatever. I'm used to dicks like you thinking they're entitled to something just because a pretty girl happens to interact with them for awhile," she joked, winking at him.

Tommy laughed and then his face softened.

"So, um, I'm not here to hit on you again, by the way. I'm here because of Oliver,"

The mention of Oliver's name knocked the smile off of Felicity's face and she scowled in a way she hoped was at least kind of subtle.

"Oh, don't worry. I don't need you to be his messenger in telling me he doesn't want to see me again. I got that message already,"

"That's actually not why I'm here either. Can we talk somewhere?" Tommy asked, gesturing back up the stairs towards her office.

"As long as you're quick. I am working, you know?"

She heard Tommy laugh again as she turned and headed back up the stairs away from the music and noise of the club, to the warm, sound-proofed walls off her office. Unlocking the door and letting themselves inside, Tommy whistled.

"Shit. You really have a nice place here," he laughed, taking in his surroundings.

Felicity smiled, complimented. She'd worked really hard on the decor of this place and it felt good to have someone notice. She'd spent a small fortune on this office alone.

"A business degree paid off eventually," she smiled. "Quite literally with how much that couch over there alone cost,"

She knew people knew she was rich so she was never afraid to be candid about money but she sometimes worried they'd think it was "daddy's money". That couldn't be further from the truth considering she hadn't seen her dad in years; she worked hard and earned all her money herself. In fact, Felicity had barely ever taken a penny from her family her entire life and that was just the way she liked it.

"I can see that. This place is just something else,"

"Thanks, it took a long time to get it looking presentable. The last owners of this place really sucked at interior design," she laughed, leaning on the edge of her desk.

Tommy watched her, she could clearly see his eyes on her legs and that also felt good. Tommy was attractive, definitely her type; tall, muscular, tanned, confident. She'd never go for him now knowing about Laurel, and obviously him being Oliver's best friend, but she could definitely picture herself at least sleeping with him in another life.

She found it hard to believe that she hadn't recognised him last night; he still looked the same as he had a year ago, just older and with slightly more facial hair. But then again, Felicity didn't exactly _know_ Tommy as anything more than Sara's sister's boyfriend, or _ex boyfriend_ now she assumed, and she'd never had any reason to get to know him in the past. Laurel worked a lot and her job was on the other side of the country, so anytime Felicity had attended family events with Sara, neither Laurel nor Tommy were ever really there. Sara's birthday party last year had been a one off event where most of the family were in the same place at the same time, including Laurel, but even then Felicity was never introduced simply because all Laurel wanted to do that night was get drunk and make out with Tommy. She and Sara had fought that night about it, and Laurel had caught the next plane back out again and barely stayed long enough to even wish Sara happy birthday. Ever since then, things had been weird between Sara and Laurel, and Sara tried as best she could to pretend she didn't care that they'd grown so far apart. Laurel didn't even come home for Christmas these days, Sara had told her one day, and Felicity had never stopped wondering how a family who had always been close could suddenly one day just stop being so. It reminded her of her own family in so many ways and that was one of the main reasons she and Sara told each other everything; they refused to have a friendship that was as dysfunctional as their family's.

Felicity wondered what had happened between Laurel and Tommy too but didn't ask. It wasn't really her place to ask and it was weird being just the two of them in room. They had so much shared history deep down, given that Laurel had been with Tommy for years, but they didn't really know each other at all, and it was beginning to become unsettling.

"So," Felicity began, breaking the silence. "You wanted to talk to me about Oliver?"

Tommy looked up from her legs - had he really been staring the entire time? - and smiled.

"Yeah I did. And he doesn't know about this, I swear,"

Felicity smiled back and gestured for him to take a seat on the white leather couch opposite her desk before moving across the room to do the same.

"He's been moping all day, Felicity, and I couldn't understand why until he told me you'd texted him,"

"So he did actually get my text then? Because he surely hasn't replied," Felicity rolled her eyes.

"He got it, freaked out and assumed you were kidding and then deleted it in a panic," Tommy laughed.

"Why would I be kidding?"

"Because, Felicity, Oliver hasn't dated anyone since middle school and his automatic response when anyone shows any interest in him is to think they're just screwing with him. So obviously when someone like _you_ asks him out, he's even more inclined to believe you're just someone joking around. It's kind of sad really,"

Felicity sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"God, Tommy, I wish you could have told me this before I sent him an angry _"I don't chase boys, remember that"_ text!"

Tommy laughed.

"You sent that?!"

"Literally 25 minutes before I bumped into you, yes,"

Tommy burst into laughter at that and Felicity just felt bad. _Way to scare off an easily terrified man_ , she thought to herself, cringing at the mental image of him reading her text.

"Maybe you should just call him?" Tommy suggested once he'd stopped laughing enough to actually get words out.

"Will he still be up now?"

"Knowing Oliver, probably. He usually reads until the early hours of the morning during the weekend when he doesn't have to be up early for work the next day,"

Felicity smiled at that. It was such a cute image, him reading his book in bed until the sun came up.

"Well thanks, Tommy. I'm actually really glad you came to see me tonight. Which is a surprise after the way you acted last night," Felicity joked.

"I really am sorry about that. I won't be drinking tequila again anytime soon," Tommy laughed, standing up and heading for the door. His hand reached for the handle before he stopped and said, "Don't hurt him, okay? He's a good guy,"

Felicity smiled again. It was clear Tommy and Oliver cared a lot about each other and it really warmed her heart.

"I really don't plan on doing so, I promise,"

And she meant that.

* * *

Oliver was just about to call it a night on his reading when his phone rang and startled him. Assuming the only reason anyone would call this late would be in an emergency, he answered hurriedly without checking to see who was calling.

"Hello?!"

"Hey, Oliver. It's Felicity,"

At the mention of her name and the sound of her voice, all coherent thought left Oliver's brain. Why was she calling him this late? Why was she calling him at all? Hadn't she had enough fun with him yet?

"Hello? Are you there?" came her voice again and Oliver realised it had been several seconds of silence.

"Yeah, hey, hi. I'm here, it's me," he babbled, still completely taken aback.

"I know it's you, I called you, remember?" she laughed.

She had a gorgeous laugh, and Oliver was too lost in it for a while to realise she was probably laughing _at_ him.

Before he could say anything, she continued.

"Okay so I just wanted to say a few things and then it's up to you whether or not you ever want to see me again, alright?"

Oliver stuttered what he hoped sounded like _"okay"_ and for some reason found himself holding his breath.

"Firstly I just want you to know that this isn't a joke, okay? I really did enjoy spending time with you last night and I really would like to see you again if you want. If you've seen the other message I sent earlier please just delete it! I swear that's not a true representation of my character. I was just angry because I'm used to guys texting me back right away so I just panicked and sent that because I wanted _you_ to text me back too. I know I should have just said that instead of being passive aggressive but I freaked out, okay? Honestly, Oliver, I'm not usually like this around guys. It's just you. You make me geek out and forget what I'm trying to say but basically what I'm trying to say is that I like you, and I'd really like to see you again and I really hope you'd like to see me again too,"

The sudden silence on the end of the phone almost made Oliver's ears ring and it was only when she stopped speaking that he realised he was smiling. If she was still only playing a joke on him, she was a really great actress.

"I'd really like to see you again too," he replied, unable to say anything else.

He heard her sigh audibly with relief.

"You would? Are you sure? Because I totally would understand if you didn't. I'm a lot to handle sometimes, Oliver,"

"One date wouldn't hurt though, right? And if I think you're a total weirdo after that then that's that. At least we'll have tried," he replied, surprised by his ability to actually speak, let alone speak somewhat with humour.

Something about talking to Felicity made Oliver feel a way he'd never felt before.

Felicity laughed.

"Okay, thank god. I was so scared you were going to turn me down when you ignored my text this morning! I'm not used to being turned down, Oliver,"

He could tell she was joking just by the tone of her voice, but he could also tell that she really wasn't used to being turned down. He noticed just then as well that she had said his name in almost every sentence, and that really made him smile.

"I'm sorry about that. I just got scared that you were kidding or something. I didn't expect to hear from you again after last night, I thought I'd bored you to tears with how lame I am," he admitted, his smile smaller than it had been as he confessed how insecure he'd been feeling.

"I get it, Oliver. I didn't think I'd see you again either because I knew for a fact you would never come to my club again and I kind of just accepted that until my friend Sara said that she knew Tommy. How weird is that right?"

"Like you said, it's a small world,"

"Maybe we were just meant to see each other again?" Felicity teased.

The hopeless romantic in Oliver couldn't help but let his heart flutter at her words.


	4. Chapter 4

**I have just sat at my computer for eleven straight hours writing this. Words don't look like words anymore, I swear.**

 **I'm so excited about this chapter (even though it doesn't feel anything like what I originally planned) because it signifies the FIRST EVER fic that I've actually completed! Usually I just start things and then leave them hanging and never actually get around to wrapping up mostly because I just SUCK at endings but I've done it, I've actually written an ending for something!**  
 **I just want to take this moment to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this story and for faving, following and leaving reviews; you honestly don't have any idea how much each little comment or anything means to me. So thank you thank you thank you! I really hope you enjoy this final chapter and the direction/structure I decided to go for. Like I said, it isn't how I initially planned it but nonetheless, I really do hope it's at least a little something of what each of you wanted from an ending.**

 **As always, please, please let me know what you think because even the tiniest comment really means the world to me, be that on this story as a whole or just on this final chapter alone.**  
 **And please let me know if any one of you would be interested in an epilogue or whether it's best to just leave it the way it is. It's just something I'm toying with the idea of right now.**

 **Again, thank you so much for reading! :)**

 **PS, I'm SO sorry about the formatting of this but FF doesn't allow double breaks between paragraphs so I had to make do with the horizontal lines which are ugly af, but all I had to work with. Feel free to read this on my Tumblr (wetusiton) or AO3 (intolauren) where the breaks between paragraphs actually WORK. *growls***

* * *

Felicity was nervous. Which was strange because Felicity rarely ever got nervous about anything.

Her date with Oliver was just a few short hours away though, and for the first time in her life, her stomach certainly had a case of the butterflies.

She'd probably been on hundreds of dates over the last few years alone, but those dates were all just killing time before she could ask to go home with each guy and then never call them again.  
Whereas this time, this date just happened to be with someone she genuinely cared about and wanted to impress. And impressing Oliver had nothing to do with how quickly he would ask her back to his place. She wanted him to like her, she wanted him to want to spend time with her, she wanted him to be able to open up to her, she wanted him to be able to trust her, and all of these feelings were just _so new_ to Felicity.

She'd never been _that girl_. That girl who needed anyone. That girl who, more specifically, needed a man on her arm to feel like she was worth something; Felicity had learned that from her mom. And up until now, she'd never wanted anyone either. But she wanted Oliver. She wanted to see the kind of person she could be when she was around someone she could really care about. She wanted to see what kinds of things she'd learn about herself if she just let someone in.

She'd been awake thinking for hours.

Leaving the club at 6am the day before, she'd expected to fall dead asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. But instead she'd laid there, her mind racing, yet still somehow calmer than she'd felt in a long time, thinking about who she was as a person and everything that had happened to her to lead her up to where she was now. She'd even had to grab a notebook at one point to write her thoughts down, something she hadn't done since she was 8 years old, and that action alone had lead to even more thoughts and revelations.

Felicity never let herself think about why she pushed everyone away. Why, besides Sara, she couldn't remember the last time she'd told a single person anything about herself past her name and job title. Because not thinking was how she survived. But as the sun had come up that morning, she'd thought about it.  
She'd thought about her parents' divorce, about the time in high school where she'd flunked 3 classes in a row, about how the kids in her dance class had laughed at her. She'd thought about all the guys who had practically drooled all over her without her consent and how little she actually got out of sleeping with them. She'd thought about all the times people had valued her purely on the way she looked simply because she hadn't given them anything else to work with.

She'd thought also about how strong she was. About how hard she'd worked to get her grades up in high school in just two years because all she wanted was to get out of the same damn town she'd grown up in, and how she'd cried when she got accepted into the college at the top of her list because everything had finally been worth it. She'd thought about all the times she'd taken herself out to a movie or to an expensive restaurant for dinner just because she could, and about how good it had felt to be so content in her own company. She'd thought about all the times she'd carried herself through hardships, holding her own hand, and how brave that made her feel.

She'd thought again about that 8 year old girl being laughed at in dance class, and how she would never have realised just how much she was going to be one day.

She thought and thought until the sun came up and the morning city traffic began to build and she could smell breakfast being made in the apartment below her. She thought more than she'd ever let herself think.

And it was mostly because of Oliver.

He was making her act so uncharacteristically but rather than it freaking her out and having her run in the opposite direction, she was welcoming the change. It felt good.

She wasn't about to act like everything she'd ever believed about men up until this point was a lie, because it wasn't; Felicity had known enough disappointment in her father alone to know that most of the time, men came with broken promises and broken trust and broken hearts and that life was a lot easier without them. But she also couldn't argue that there was something about Oliver that made her question whether _all_ men were like that after all.

She didn't know how a person she'd only just met could have already had such a huge impact on her life, but he had, and she knew that had to be a good thing. That it had to mean something. That he was probably the kind of person she needed to keep around.

They'd talked for a good half an hour the night before.  
Felicity had almost forgotten that she was supposed to be working until one of the bar staff had knocked on her door to tell her they were out of vodka. She'd been laying on her couch with her heels off talking to Oliver as though she had nowhere else in the world to be. Talking to him had felt a lot like talking to Sara, and it made her smile whenever she thought about that.

How had she only known this person for a little over a day?

* * *

Felicity hadn't told Oliver much about what she had planned for their date and it was making him a thousand times more nervous than usual. She'd told him " _dress casual and leave the rest up to me,"_ and that was that. She had promised somewhere quiet and less crowded this time though, and at least that put his mind at ease. And she'd also promised they wouldn't be out late, given that it was a Monday night. When she'd asked to see him again on the phone, he'd suggested the upcoming weekend but she'd interrupted before he could even finish his sentence, saying that was too far away and that she wanted to see him as soon as possible. So they'd decided on tonight instead. And that had made it the first Monday in a long time that Oliver had been excited for.

His work day had been slow because he'd looked at the clock several times an hour, willing the time to tick by so he could be that extra bit closer to seeing Felicity again. Each time he thought about seeing her again, his brain had tried to remind him of all the things that could possibly go wrong. It tried to convince him that she wasn't going to turn up, that she was going to text him 10 minutes after they were supposed to meet saying that she'd changed her mind. That even if she did turn up, she was going to fall asleep whilst he was speaking because he was so boring and unengaging.

But each time that had happened, Oliver had shook his head and refused to believe it. Because no matter how unlikely he and Felicity were, he knew she truly did want to see him again. He believed her when she'd said that. There was just something in the way she'd said it, that made him believe her.  
It wasn't like Oliver to ever let himself believe that anyone would want to be with him; he'd spent the last 10+ years of his life content with being alone, out of necessity more than anything. But something about knowing Felicity, even though it had only been a day or two, made him start to think about the possibility that maybe he was worth knowing after all.

When 6:00pm finally arrived, Oliver practically sprinted from his office to the bathroom to change out of his suit ready for his date with Felicity. He still had so much work to do due to his focus being elsewhere the entire day and on an average day, Oliver would definitely have stayed late to get it all finished. But not today. Today he had much more important plans.

Inside the bathroom, he changed into light washed jeans and a navy blue button down, his beloved black Converse and a black leather jacket. He wasn't completely clueless when it came to fashion (even though his closet did hold some particularly questionable items), and he gave himself a tiny nod of approval as he stepped back to survey his outfit in the full length mirror.

Dashing back into his office he hung his suit on a hanger behind the door so he wouldn't have to carry it around all night, placed his wallet and phone in his jeans pocket and then shoved his bag under his desk. He glanced at his watch. It was 6:20pm by now and Felicity had told him to meet her outside his work at 6:30. When he'd asked her how she knew where he worked she'd just laughed and said " _I have my ways,"_. In any other circumstance that would have left him unnerved but in this one, he'd just shook his head and laughed with her.

The ride down 16 floors in the elevator to the lobby was where Oliver's anxiety really kicked in.

He tried to stay calm and stay excited but his brain was persistent in reminding him of all the times girls had played him. The time in high school where someone asked him to prom just for a joke. The time he saved up to buy two tickets to a special screening of a classic horror movie, only for the girl to say she couldn't come in the end. The time his own mother had told him that guys like him just didn't get the girl and that was just the way it was.

The doors opened on the third floor to let someone in and Oliver couldn't stop his feet from exiting the elevator there. He found himself in an unfamiliar hallway and leaned against the wall trying to stop his head from spinning. His stomach was in knots, he was beginning to sweat nervously and he was sure by now that she wasn't going to be there when he got down to the lobby and that once again, he was the root of a joke. Only this time it was going to be so much worse because he'd actually started to let himself believe that this would work out. He'd started to imagine the possibility of them dating properly. He'd been stupid enough to actually let himself believe that she wanted him and wanted to be around him. So this was really going to hurt. If he got back in that elevator and the doors opened and Oliver saw that she wasn't there, waiting like she'd promised, this was _really_ going to hurt.

* * *

Felicity was growing more and more restless sitting on the couch in the lobby of Oliver's office building. Tommy had assured her he'd be down by 6:30 but the seconds were ticking by slowly but surely to 6:35 and he still hadn't showed. She drummed her fingers rhythmlessly on the arm of the couch and tried not to think too much.

He was just late, that's all. These things happened. Maybe his boss had needed to see him. Maybe the elevator had stalled. Maybe he was sick.

Maybe he didn't want to see her after all.

That had been a persistent thought all day that kept coming back.  
When she'd fallen asleep last night she'd dreamed that she got lost on the way to his building and turned up so late that everyone had gone home, including Oliver, and she'd woken up feeling relieved that it had been a dream, but also full of anxiety that something would happen and he'd change his mind and just head home for the night as usual before she even got the chance to explain. So she'd arrived half an hour early to his building, just to be sure, and the 30 minute wait in a lobby with slightly shoddy air conditioning was certainly not helping to keep her nerves at bay, especially now Oliver was almost 6 minutes late.

* * *

It was almost 6:40pm by the time Oliver finally made himself get back in the elevator. He was sure by now that even if she had turned up, she wouldn't still be waiting for him, and part of him felt relieved. He'd been kidding himself to think the two of them could work anyway and it was easier to just accept that he'd let his imagination run away with him.  
He rode the last 3 floors down to the lobby relatively calmly, thinking about going home and throwing himself into a Netflix marathon and maybe getting around to finishing his book. He didn't even look up from his phone as the doors opened and he stepped out, not until he heard someone call his name.

"Oliver!"

It was Felicity.

He could recognise her voice anywhere.

She was actually here.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and finally forced his eyes up to look at her.  
She was standing by the couch a few metres away from the elevators, waving and smiling at him. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and a pair of white heeled sandals, and she looked incredible. Her hair was down, the way it had been when they met, but her face looked different this time, as though she wasn't wearing any makeup. She was so beautiful.

He smiled back as he approached her.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. I had a mini freak out somewhere between the 16th and 3rd floor," he confessed, still smiling so as to make light of the situation.

She smiled back but there was concern in her eyes.

"It's okay! I'm sorry you freaked out. I just thought you'd changed your mind, that's all," she said, playing with a strand of her hair.

She looked nervous and Oliver silently yelled at himself inside his head for keeping her waiting so long.

"My mind remains thoroughly unchanged,"

She laughed at that and he saw her shoulders relax.

He wished he could relax too but he was too busy watching for the slightest indication in her body language that she was about to reach the punchline of her joke.

"So, are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Where are we going?"

"For a picnic!"

"A picnic? But it's November and it's dark. And cold…"

Felicity laughed.

"I had a feeling you'd say that so I came prepared! With blankets and thermos. And wine. Plus, we can always cuddle up together if it's too cold,"

Oliver suspected she hadn't meant to say that last part out loud and expected her to blush. But she didn't. She looked as though she hadn't even realised she'd said it; she was smiling softly, her eyes bright with excitement, the same way she had that night they met.

He smiled. He wished he could be more like that. More completely unapologetic of who he was.

"A picnic it is then!"

* * *

Admittedly, Felicity had probably gone a little overboard when she decided to book the entire golf course for their picnic. That was evident in the perplexed expression on Oliver's face as they arrived after their short walk there.

Their walk had been pleasant. They hadn't talked much, but the silence hadn't been uncomfortable. On more than one occasion she'd looked up at him to find him already looking at her, and he'd quickly looked away, pretending he hadn't been staring. She'd smiled to herself every time it happened; she was used to men leering over her body on a daily basis, so to be with a man who seemed so respectful he would only look when he knew it wouldn't make her uncomfortable, it felt nice. Strange and unfamiliar also, but mostly just nice.

Not that she hadn't been stealing looks at him anytime she could too.

He looked amazing in jeans, and Felicity couldn't believe she hadn't really noticed the first time they met. He also looked just as good in a blue button down as he did a white one, and out of the darkness of the club, she could tell he worked out. Probably not to the extent that she did, but just the right amount. His shoulders and arms were broad, but his waist was slim, and those proportions didn't tend to be something a person inherited. She could see his face properly out here too, his surprisingly chiseled jawline and slightly freckled complexion and gorgeous blue eyes.

He wasn't really her usual type, but he was a beautiful person, she couldn't deny that. And there was just something about him that made her want to keep looking at him.

As they approached the golf course parking lot, she decided to finally let him in on her plans.

"We're here," she grinned, gesturing with her hand past the empty parking lot to the vast amount of perfectly trimmed grass just behind it.

"Isn't this place closed for the winter?"

"It is. But I just happen to know the owner and for a price, he let me use the grounds just for tonight,"

"Do I even want to know what that price was?"

"Probably. But it's not your problem, so don't worry about it. Everything tonight is already taken care of," she smiled.

Oliver sighed.

"Felicity, I can't-"

"Don't even finish that sentence. I have a lot of money, okay? And not to sound like I'm bragging, but I won't even notice the price of tonight has left my account. So honestly, don't worry. Please,"

Oliver laughed.

"Are you sure you're not trying to sound like you're bragging?" he teased.

"Okay, maybe a little," she giggled.

* * *

Oliver couldn't exactly say that he was surprised that Felicity had hired the entire golf course for their date, even though he truly had been expecting a picnic bench in the park.

He would have been more than happy to just sit on a wall somewhere in the middle of the city with her. But here they were at the most prestigious golf course in the entire city, where half the members were millionaires, sitting in the middle of the fairway on a picnic blanket, drinking wine that was definitely more expensive than his entire apartment.

He'd asked her about the wine, and her answer had been a shrug and " _my mom recommended it,"_ so he could tell that she probably wasn't really all that interested in the field of wine at all. He himself knew a lot about wine, however. His father had been somewhat of a connoisseur his entire life, which had lead to Oliver knowing a lot of pretty pointless information about a good white or a good red that no one ever really cared about. This particular wine was Vietnamese and it was the most delicious red he'd ever tasted.

"Did you know that in Vietnam you can actually order cobra blood wine from menus in restaurants?" he asked, unable to help himself.

"What, like actual cobra blood?"

"Yep. The waiters actually take live cobras and kill them on the spot, drain their blood into a shot glass of rice wine and sometimes even leave the snake's still beating heart in there for you to drink! You have to gulp it down, it's not something to be savoured and sipped, but it's pretty wild to think about it, right?"  
Felicity laughed.

"Wild is one word. Gross is another,"

"And you know, if it wasn't for Monks in the Middle Ages, we probably wouldn't even be enjoying this bottle right now. There's even a champagne named after a Monk, Dom Perignon, and his winemaking techniques are still used today in-"

Oliver cut himself off mid-sentence. No one cared about this stuff.

"I'm sorry, I'll shut up now," he laughed, uneasily, willing his mouth to just _be quiet_.

"Hey, it's alright. You don't have to stop talking,"

"I do, I'm probably boring you anyway. You don't have to pretend to care about anything I'm saying,"

Smiling softly, Felicity leaned over and took his hand.

"I care about you, and whatever you care about. Stop invalidating yourself, Oliver. It's okay to talk about things even if you think the other person isn't particularly interested. If they're interested in you, which I am, they'll listen. And I'm listening. So talk,"

Oliver smiled back but couldn't bring himself to continue talking. He'd pretty much forgotten everything he was saying anyway now she was holding his hand. Feeling her warm skin against his took him back to that Friday night in her club, to that moment they'd shared, that perfect moment that had been rudely interrupted by Tommy.

It also reminded him that she was actually here, this was actually happening.

They'd been here for almost two hours now, and so far, she hadn't fallen asleep whilst he was speaking, she hadn't made an excuse and had to leave early and she hadn't shown any signs that she was about to tell him this has all been a joke. In fact, up until this moment, he'd almost forgotten that this could all blow up in his face at any second, simply because he'd been too busy enjoying her company. Which in itself was strange because usually in social situations his brain was so focused on thinking of excuses to leave or ways to get out of there, that he couldn't follow a conversation for more than around 10 seconds at a time. He didn't know if it was Felicity or the alcohol that was making him feel and act so uncharacteristically, but he wasn't going to dwell on it too much.

She interrupted his internal monologue suddenly and he looked up to find her smiling at him intently.

"Hey, so can I ask you a question? Seeing as you don't seem to want to talk about wine anymore,"

"Sure, yeah," he replied, smiling back, feeling his cheeks warm at the thought of her just watching him think without saying anything.

"This thing you do, thinking other people don't care about what you have to say, why do you do that? I mean, you thought I was kidding about wanting to see you too, and you thought I didn't want to listen to you talk. So why is that?"

Oliver wasn't sure exactly how to answer that. No one had ever asked him a question like that quite so bluntly before.

He stared awkwardly at their hands.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to," Felicity said quickly, clearly sensing his discomfort.

"No, it's okay. I'm just not used to people asking me questions like that, that's all,"

She squeezed his hand but didn't say anything, letting him gather his thoughts.

This was the point in conversation where Oliver most wanted to shrivel up into a tiny ball and cease to exist. Even with Tommy or his family, he never talked about much past the surface value of general conversation. But Felicity was bringing out a side of Oliver that he enjoyed, and so for the first time, he decided to talk.

* * *

Felicity could tell Oliver was uncomfortable as soon as the question left her mouth. But the longer he sat with the question, the more she could tell that he _did_ actually want to talk about it. So she left him to gather his thoughts. She held onto his hand still, partly for his benefit as a reminder that she was there with him, but mostly just because she didn't want to let go.

Part of her was regretting choosing a picnic for their date, because like Oliver had said, it _was_ November and it was _definitely_ cold out now night had fallen. But holding onto his hand made her entire body feel that little bit warmer. That and the several glasses of wine.

"So I had this crush in middle school," Oliver said suddenly, not meeting her eyes.

"Ah, middle school crushes," she laughed.

Oliver chuckled too before he continued.

"She sat in front of me in homeroom and I can't even tell you how many mornings I spent staring at the back of her head, wondering what it would be like to just go up to her and ask her out. But I didn't, obviously. Because we were just worlds apart at school. The only thing we had in common was the room we had homeroom in. She was way out of my league, and I'm not just saying that to be self deprecating, I literally mean it,"

Felicity laughed again at that and wondered what Oliver was like as a teenager. If he was anything like the way he looked now, she couldn't understand how anyone could ever be that far out of his league.

"Anyway, for two years I crushed on her. Hard. I'm talking poems in the back of my maths notebook and everything," he laughed.

"What I'd give to read some of those," Felicity teased.

"I burned those notebooks pretty quickly in the end, trust me. Because when prom came around she gave me a massive reality check.  
Tommy had been on at me for weeks to ask her to prom. He was pretty persistent in reminding me that we were going to different high schools and that this was my last chance to try. So I did. I asked her to prom. And she said yes. Which was weird from the start considering she didn't even know my name. And the last I'd heard she was dating this senior from a high school in the city. But at the time, I didn't think about that. All I could think about was the fact that I had a date to prom, and it was the girl I'd crushed on for two years. For the first time in my life, I didn't feel like the lamest nerd to ever exist and it was nice, you know?"

Felicity nodded, and smiled softly at him. She could tell that this story wasn't going to have a happy ending and she already wished she could turn back time and make it so that whatever happened never had to happen to him.

"Anyway, prom came around so fast. I'd been working for my neighbours cutting grass or walking dogs to save up for a suit and corsage and when the night arrived, I'd never been more excited. I was supposed to be meeting her there and then we were going to walk in together and get our picture taken for the yearbook and all that stuff. I'd planned what I was going to say to her, the questions I was going to ask and the corsage I'd bought was perfect; it was pretty much the exact same colour as her dress and it was one of the most expensive things I'd ever bought at the time.  
When I arrived at school, I couldn't see her in the parking lot where we'd arranged to meet but I didn't worry too much. I was a little early anyway and I figured she'd just got stuck in traffic. But then half an hour went by and she still hadn't showed so I texted her, just to let her know I was outside waiting for her. And then the next thing I know she's coming out with a bunch of her friends and they're all laughing at me and one of them even had this stupid little camera and was filming the whole thing. I quickly realised then that she'd been making me into a joke the whole time and had never had any intentions of going with me. She yelled something like " _like I'd ever go out with you,"_ and I was already walking away at this point, but even then I could still hear them all laughing at me. I heard them laughing at me for years, every night before I went to sleep. I mean, I was only 16 and up until that point I hadn't really had any reason to believe there was _that_ much wrong with me. Yeah, I probably liked comic books and video games a lot more than the average person but that was all. But anyway, that messed me up so bad. And I hate that it still affects me, you know? Because when I look back on my life and realise that I would have done _so much so differently_ had it not been for that one incident back in middle school, it kind of makes me wonder what the point of anything is,"

He stopped then and looked down, picking at a thread on the blanket.

Felicity wondered if he'd ever let himself speak for so long without interrupting himself to ask if the other person was bored yet.

It broke her heart.

She didn't know what to say. She doubted there was anything she could say that would mean anything anyway.

So instead she did the one thing she'd wanted to do since the first time they met.

* * *

Felicity was kissing him before he even had time to apologise for speaking for so long. He was about to laugh awkwardly and try to make light of the situation, but her mouth on his made him forget that he'd just said more in one go than ever in his life. Her mouth on his made him forget that he'd just said aloud something he'd never spoken about since it happened. Her mouth on his made him forget his own damn name.

He felt her sigh as soon as their mouths connected and it felt so comforting that goosebumps formed all over his body. Her lips were soft and gentle, not seeking anything, but the feel of them on his still knocked the breath from his lungs.

He could taste the wine she'd been drinking, and right then and there it became his favourite wine in the entire world.

She was still holding one of his hands, their fingers laced tightly together, and her other hand was resting on his thigh. He could feel how warm her skin was even through the material of his jeans.

 _He'd never been this close to anyone._

Suddenly - or maybe it hadn't been sudden at all - he felt her tongue on his bottom lip, the hand that was holding his squeezed tightly, and Oliver forgot how to breathe.

* * *

She didn't know if kissing him so suddenly had been a good idea, but she knew she never wanted to stop now. Even when he'd let her tongue into his mouth, it wasn't enough for her. It felt too good to be kissing him. Kissing someone she actually cared about was a brand new thing for Felicity, and she had no idea it could ever feel this incredible.

She knew Oliver was holding back and somewhere inside her she found the presence to stop and pull back.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, her face so close to his that she could feel his warm breath on her skin.

He pressed his forehead against hers.

"I've never really kissed anyone before," he whispered back.

She smiled, running her fingers through his hair before bringing her hand back to rest against his cheek. She felt him move his head into her hand, and heard him sigh.

"It's pretty cool, right?" she smiled.

"Cool is one word for it. Fucking incredible is another,"

She laughed then. "That's two words actually,"

His only response was to press his mouth back to hers.

* * *

He didn't know how his arms found their way around her waist but suddenly there were there and he was pulling her into him like it was something he'd done every day of his life.

She felt so good pressed against him, her body so warm even though the temperature out there must have been close to freezing by that point. He was vaguely aware of the bottle of wine between them that had probably fallen over, and vaguely aware that it was getting late and he had to be up early for work, and vaguely aware that the damp grass was beginning to seep through their blanket, but he didn't care enough to think about those things for more than a second. _He just didn't care_ about anything besides Felicity, so warm and so beautiful in his arms. Nothing outside of that moment mattered. It was just them.

Oliver felt Felicity open her mouth wider, and their tongues collided, and before he even realised it, he'd moaned softly, a sound he never imagined coming out of him.

One of her hands was clutching his bicep, her nails digging into his skin through the thin material of his shirt, and he knew it should hurt, but it didn't. _It just didn't_. It only gave him the courage to kiss her harder. That earned him a breathy moan and her tongue dipping further into his mouth. He felt her teeth graze at his bottom lip, and he pulled her even closer to him, deciding he didn't need oxygen anymore, all he needed was her.

* * *

Felicity lost track of time completely. She felt like she was floating.

* * *

It was Oliver who pulled back eventually, his breath coming in short, quick pants. It was only when he pulled back that Felicity realised how much air she'd also sacrificed just to keep his mouth on hers and she smiled as she tried to regain control of her breathing. Neither of them spoke for a long time, they just sat still, close together, holding onto each other's hands again.

"Oliver?" Felicity asked quietly after a while.

"Yeah?"

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you,"

He smiled. "Thank you,"

"You didn't deserve that. And you definitely don't deserve to live your whole life holding back just because one stupid girl didn't realise how amazing you are,"

She felt his eyes on her as she spoke and she turned to meet his gaze.

"You are amazing, Oliver,"

* * *

Oliver didn't know how to respond.

He wanted to thank her, but a thank you just didn't feel enough. So instead, he didn't say anything. He just squeezed her hand and smiled softly and hoped she could somehow know that he was so glad to be there with her. More glad than he'd ever been about anything.

* * *

She knew.


End file.
